VIDEO: DeLollo's Hardware to reopen Monday

From left to right: Mike Lengard and Rich Gaughan, co-owners of DeLollo's Hardware on 19th Street in Watervliet, pose with the store manager, Corey Lesson, in the midst of preparing for its soft reopening on Monday. (Mike McMahon / The Record)

WATERVLIET -- A long-time hardware hub will soon re-open under its old name once again. DeLollo's soft-opening is slated for Monday and employees at the 19th Street store said they are eager to serve the local community once more.

"It's taken a lot of planning, re-stocking, and paperwork," said Rich Gaughan of Cohoes, a co-owner of DeLollo's. The store was getting new lighting and other finishing touches on Friday.

A grand opening is expected in about one month.

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Recent customers will not only find that the large store on the corner of 19th and 7th has a new color scheme, but that its layout has changed too; the store has been set up the way it was prior to Carr management, explained Gaughan.

As for other changes, he hopes the prices are better than competitors in the area.

All of the employees worked at DeLollo's under its old moniker before Carr Hardware leased the site. Carr was at the downtown Watervliet location for a few years before closing, which, according to officials, was because of a decline of business from the 19th Street construction.

Henry DeLollo, whose family has had a business on the property for decades, maintained ownership of the property and when Carr's lease ran out, he had hoped it would remain a hardware store.

"I'm looking forward to this and I've been calling up a lot of old customers who said they are thrilled," DeLollo said.

"The name carries its own," said Corey Lesson, store manager who worked for 13 years with DeLollo's then five years with Carr and now plans to help DeLollo's reopen once more.

Gaughan, who co-owns the business with Mike Legnard of Clifton Park, said the employees who are coming back have been invaluable during the process. Henry DeLollo said he also plans to work part-time at the store.

Lesson added, "There are some very loyal people here."

There will be five employees, with the hopes of future expansion and hiring, said Gaughan, noting that they were excited about the upcoming construction at the St. Patrick's property since they hoped that would help get them more business.